Allen Has Ordered ‘Uninhibited Access’ to Oil Spill Operations
EmailAdmiral Thad Allen told me he has ordered that oil spill operations be open to the media. The National Incident Commander for the oil spill efforts said in my “This Week” interview, “I put out a written directive and I can provide it for the record that says the media will have uninhibited access anywhere we're doing operations, except for two things, if it's a security or safety problem. That is my policy. I'm the national incident commander.”
When I was in Louisiana over the weekend, I experienced stony silence from government workers and private contractors working for BP who were told not to talk about the work they are doing. Allen pledged to make sure word about his directive gets out to workers.
TAPPER: Lastly, I saw firsthand when I was down in Louisiana over
the weekend, all the workers there, whether they work for the governor
or for BP or for private contractors who work for BP, they've all been
told not to talk to the press, not to talk to the public about their
work. Shouldn't they be allowed to share with the public the work that
they're doing?
ALLEN: I put out a written directive and I can provide it for the
record that says the media will have uninhibited access anywhere we're
doing operations, except for two things, if it's a security or safety
problem. That is my policy. I'm the national incident commander.
TAPPER: Well, I can tell you firsthand people are not — people are
not following that.
ALLEN: You take (ph) the information and you tell me where it's at,
and we'll get the word to them.
TAPPER: All right, Admiral Allen, thanks so much for joining us.
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Please don’t have Liz Cheney on the show. She is just a talking head for her dad and is so rude to the other people on the panel. It looked like George Will was about to blow a gasket. She is ridiculous.
Posted by: Melissa in Indiana | June 6, 2010, 10:24 am 10:24 am
Jake, your Twitter feed reveals two assumptions: that everyone working for the government is a Saint, and that everyone working for BP is a lying crook. Please adjust your assumptiometer to expect that -everyone- is in some way trying to cover their posterior and make their boss look good. All the Saints in government have already marched in… they’re gone now.
Posted by: Robert Hahn | June 6, 2010, 10:28 am 10:28 am
The arrogance displayed by BP, in what now is termed the greatest ecological disaster in history is a phenomenal response in terms of lack there of.
This oil slick will eventually get into the Gulf Stream and eventually on our shores on the East Coast. The heartache of watching oil slicked marshes, oil covered pelicans attempting to fly continues on a daily basis.
The Coast Guard and industry lobbyists continue the legal fight against the Massachusetts Oil Spill Prevention Act. Attorney General Martha Coakley is fighting federal regulations to try and end a turf war. It took eight years for a jury to award damages in the Buzzards Bay spill.
On April 27, 2003, eight years ago the Bouchard Barge B-120 hit an obstacle in Buzzards Bay, creating a 12-foot rupture in its hull and discharging an estimated 100,000 gallons of No. 6 oil. The oil is known to have affected an estimated 90 miles of shoreline, killed 450 numerous bird species, and recreational use of the bay, such as shell fishing and boating.
Posted by: Bill Carson | June 6, 2010, 10:28 am 10:28 am
The only problem with this is the “reporters” looking to make their big scoop who blow things out of proportion or misinterpret information.
My husband was hauling a load of clay when a pickup hauling a pipe trailer came around him at an intersection. Since the semi had turn signals on and had already starting making the turn, the pickup was ticketed.
The “news” crew filmed the hazmat placards, which are required to be on trailers that might haul chemicals in case of emergencies so emergency crews will know how to handle a potential accident. The reporter was so insistent about trying to make a potential toxic spill story the highway patrolman finally got involved and explained who was at fault and that the load was clay, dirt.
The story that night? “Killer Truck Drivers on Our Highways. How Close to Death Are you?”
They led off the story with the truck driver not allowing them to see his driver logs. What was he hiding? How long had it been since he slept? BTW, that’s about the first thing a Hp officer checks on any truck incident.
Responsible reporting is fine. Reporters looking to make a name by breaking the next Watergate do nothing but hinder efforts.
Posted by: JMW | June 6, 2010, 10:38 am 10:38 am
JMW | Jun 6, 2010 10:38:21 AM**********
********** Totally agree, sometimes I wonder
if Tapper wants to play the arrogant news
anchorman, played on the movie DIEHARD
Posted by: spacerook1 | June 6, 2010, 11:50 am 11:50 am
Mr. Tapper, I hope you follow up with Adm. Allen with on the issue of people being able to talk to the Press. From what I have heard from other media sources, all that will need to be provided is BP’s employment contract that must be signed prior to employment by BP for any of their contractors or employees. From what I have heard, any contact with any media makes them subject to immediate dismissal. I believe this has been reported on your affiliate station KTRK Channel 13 in Houston. Also , is BP to make whole the 30 to 50 thousand workers who will be idled by the moritorium on drilling imposed by the Obama administration? If you apply the multiplier of 4 to these workers by including the support personel idled by the moritorium on drilling, then you have 250,000 jobless from the higher paying jobs in this economy. I will be listening for your follow-up investigative reporting, or mayby you should turn Wayne Delchifino loose to investigate this and make a national name for himself.
Posted by: Larry H. | June 6, 2010, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm
It’s really a disappointment to witness how comments here stray off point from what needs to be addressed and who’s the responsible party. Oil spills can happen-pipes can break when oil platforms blow up and sink. BP could have should have attacked the problem in the first week the way it finally did in the 6th week. Similarly the Admiral could and should have honestly ordered his proclamation of freedom of the press and access sometime within the first week . Applying the order after there has been restrictions by Bp for 6 weeks and when the oil flow is now reduces smells of corruption on your part admiral. Your no better than the party BP trying to hide the damage and friends and neighbors they did it successfully. For the record hundreds or thousands of biological species could have died and been picked up and hidden from our eyes. Now is too late BP to contain the spill-too late Admiral to open the Gulf to the public knowledge and too late Mr. Obama to ever convince me your basically an honest person. Security? National security? For who ? Americans who are slaves to a deceitful government. In time one reaps the fruit of the seeds they sew. Finding myself surrounded by $200,000 salaried federal employees who sit in their high chairs while the biology of this Planet Earth dies is quite the experience. If I was in charge I couldn’t allow it. A bomb to close the flow as crude as it would have been compared to just replacing the damaged plumbing as BP has now done would have been proof you are caring conscious human beings. May I ask you what proof and statment of your being have you left with this event?
Posted by: fred flintstone | June 6, 2010, 10:45 pm 10:45 pm